2014 Chapter Board. Table of Contents President s Letter 2 Meeting News 3 Chapter News 4 Industry News 5 Birthdays Sponsors

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1 2014 Chapter Board Monica Spillane, President Signature Properties Savannah Deena Camacho, President Elect Southbridge Realty Jenny Rutherford, VP of Membership Keller Williams Julie Kelly-Jones, Treasurer Fidelity Bank Mortgage Jackie Riley, Secretary National Property Inspections Linda King, Registration-Guests Re/Max Savannah Michele Gutting, Sponsorships Re/Max Savannah Paul Gutting, Marketing & Publicity Re/Max Savannah Ann Ellis, Standing Rules/Bylaws Tri-County Real Estate Vicki Mitchell, Standing Rules/Bylaws Mitchell & Assoc Liz Thompson, Ways&Means Attorney-at-Law Joyce Jarrell, Ways&Means Century 21 Ways Station Lauren Fowler, Local Affiliates Homes & Land of Savannah Ginni Galuk, Meeting Arrangements/Evites ERA Southeast Coastal Real Estate Judy Nease Ganem, Past President & Nominations ERA Southeast Coastal Real Estate Table of Contents President s Letter 2 Meeting News 3 Chapter News 4 Industry News 5 Birthdays Sponsors A Note from your 2014 President I'm so glad Spring is finally here and the cold weather is gone! The Savannah Chapter of Women's Council had a great first quarter in spite of the weather. We had a wonderful class in January (really February), taught by G. William James, on Mobile Technology for Realtors, a top Producer's Panel in February and a self-defense class in March. Our Spring basket auction, organized by the always fabulous, Liz Thompson and her new Vice Chair, the amazing Joyce Jarrell, raised over $2,588! Thanks to everyone who brought an item or bought one. We have had 12 new National members join since the beginning of the year. That's an 18% increase in membership. Please welcome Cathy Butler Gregory, Jennifer Scroggs, Kathleen Smith, Karen Hewitt, Trey Niver, Matt Buck, Pam Hammock, Lauren Medina, Bonnie Gaster, Joyce Rhodes, Cheryl Klein and Susan Coleman. In March, our National President, Jo Kenney, was the Keynote speaker at our state meeting. She spoke on WCR's new strategic plan and the direction WCR is taking for the future. We have some great speakers coming up. In April we have Dr Michael Toma from Armstrong Atlantic State University coming to give us the economic state of our area after 2013 and the first quarter of In May, we will have an update from all 3 of our school districts so you will have the latest information for all of your summer buyers. We look forward to seeing you! And last, but not least, congratulations to Judy Nease Ganem and the 2013 WCR leadership team!!! The Savannah Chapter took home the GOLD in the Large Chapter category! Great job Miss Judy! Monica Spillane, 2014 President Savannah Chapter, Women s Council of REALTORS pg. 1

2 Meeting News: February JANUARY aka February 10, 2014 Top producer panel speaks at February meeting G. William James presents CE class The CE class scheduled for January was postponed due to the icy road conditions. Mr. James was able to reschedule the class for February 10. Attendees gained some valuable tips on how to use mobile apps in their businesses! Thank you to our January Sponsors: Jeff Rubnitz, Rubnitz & Ziblut, Brooks Gaudrey, American Moving & Storage, We were pleased to have Savannah top producers Teresa Cowart, Steffany Farmer, Bonnie Gaster, and Judy McDougal share their keys to success and answer questions from the audience. Thank you to our February Sponsors: TJ Hollis, Lee, Black & Hollis, Beth Jeffreys, Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp, Mark Kerce, Mungo Homes, Kevin Allen, Worldwide Moving & Storage, pg. 2

3 March information about the important work that Rape Crisis Center does in crime prevention and working with victims. This was also our spring basket auction. Thanks to all who donated and bought baskets, a total of $2, was raised! Rape Crisis Center Offers Self-Defence Class for WCR Members Kesha Gibson-Carter, Director of Rape Crisis Center graciously offered a self-defense class to WCR. Our instructors were Todd Mashburn and William Horne who teach krav maga, an Israeli martial art. The participants learned some valuable tips on making themselves less of a target and how to get out of dangerous situations. Thank you to our March Sponsors: Janet Atwood, Synergy Homes, Patrick Riley, National Property Inspections, Rob Brannen, Bouhan & Falligant, Lynn Knox, Wells Fargo Mortgage, Kesha Gibson-Carter speaks at March Meeting CHAPTER NEWS Winners of Recruitment Contest Named Rape Crisis Center Director, Kesha Gibson Carter spoke at the meeting to give us some Everyone who sponsored a new member from the first of the year through March 31 was eligible for a drawing to win free lunches for calendar year Jenny Rutherford announced that Deena Camacho and Joyce Jarrell were the winners of the free lunches for the year. Welcome to all our new members! pg. 3

4 Everyone who has renewed their membership will be eligible for a drawing for a VISA gift card. Jenny will announce the winner at the April meeting. WCR To Sponsor Wine Tasting for Rape Crisis Center WCR will sponsor a wine tasting to benefit Rape Crisis Center. Johnnie Ganem s has graciously offered to host in the Rebel Room and the date is October 2. Please save the date and we will be sending out more information over the coming months Meeting Date and Speakers April 23 Economic Outlook May 21 School Zoning Update September 24 Cultural Awareness October 21 Elected Official Keynote November 19 Obamacare Update December 10 Installation of Officers Programs are subject to change based on speaker availability. Please make sure you take note of the meeting location on the evite. Other Important Dates May NAR/WCR Mid-Year, Washington DC September GAR Convention, Destin, FL October GA State WCR Officer Orientation November 5-10 NAR/WCR Conference, New Orleans 2013 Final Quarter Financial News In anticipation of Dr. Michael Toma speaking at the April meeting, the following was excerpted from the 4 th Q 2013 Coastal Empire Economic Monitor: Savannah s economy expanded at a rapid rate during the closing quarter of The economy s expansion accelerated for the fourth consecutive quarter. Growth in electricity sales (a broad indicator of residential, commercial, and manufacturing activity), tourism, and port activity caused the acceleration in regional economic activity. The Coastal Empire leading economic index surged again, registering the eighth consecutive quarterly improvement, including the second consecutive quarter in which annualized growth was 10 percent or higher. Significant improvement in the regional housing market was supported by lesser improvement in the labor market. The continued acceleration of growth in the leading index signals continued economic expansion through late GENERAL WARRANTY DEED GOES WAY OF DINOSAUR By Liz Thompson, real estate closing attorney The 2014 GAR Sales and Purchase Agreement has made a substantial change in the method of transferring title from sellers to buyers. While it may seem that one little word would not be significant, never discount the power of one word used by a lawyer! Until January 1, 2014, all GAR contracts provided that title shall be transferred by general warranty deed. This means that the seller warrants to the buyer that he has good title and that everyone before him had good title. So, if there are any defects in the title for back at least fifty years, the seller must correct them prior to closing. With a limited warranty deed, you have a completely different scenario. For example, John Doe buys property in In 2007, John Doe s seller s seller had a judgment lien issued against him for $3, The closing attorney for John Doe (not a Savannah real estate attorney) did a limited title search (meaning they searched the title from the seller forward, and not behind) and did not find this lien. Now, John Doe is selling the property and the Savannah closing attorney does a full, fifty year title search, as required by the Georgia Title Standards. The lien appears. Per the Title Standards, the current closing attorney calls the prior closing attorney, thinking, this was probably paid off at closing and no cancellation has been filed. WRONG. No payment was made, so no cancellation is now due. Because John Doe received title by a limited warranty deed, his seller refused to pay for this lien and make the title good. John Doe now has to pay off someone else s lien before he can sell the property. Luckily, he did get an owners title insurance policy. The claim process takes a few months, so he goes ahead and pays the lien so he can close, and has to wait for the title insurance company to reimburse him, which they do. (This is a true story.) With a limited warranty deed, the seller only warrants that he has good title. He will not be required to correct any title defects prior to his ownership. So, if there is an unpaid judgment pg. 4

5 lien recorded prior to the time your seller bought the property (which is not discovered until after you buy your property), your seller is NOT responsible for making that go away. Remember, the GAR contract is seller oriented. The GAR contract still calls for title to be insurable, and it is NOT insurable with this lien in place, so, in this instance, when the seller goes to sell the property, he could not go against his seller for payment of the lien. He would either have to pay it himself or, if he purchased an owners title policy, have the title company pay it. I would strongly recommend that buyer s agents request title by a general warranty deed via special stipulation. If the seller refuses, it would be very foolish not to purchase an owners title insurance policy. Agents are strongly recommended to explain this difference to their clients. A secondary lesson is that it can be very costly to allow non-savannah attorneys to close your sales transactions. Happy selling! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO THE FOLLOWING MEMBERS! April 04/06 Christine McDonnell 04/14 Willene Cobb 04/14 Vickie Gale May 05/09 Karen Thomas 05/28 Frank Curran June 06/01 Janet Howard 06/03 Ginni Galuk 06/11 Dianne Kessler 06/17 Jeff Rubnitz 06/22 Stevie Williams Mills 06/27 Doug McManamy July 07/01 Deena Camacho 07/07 Maureen Simmons 07/18 Karen Schroder 07/24 Lynda Adamson 07/29 Paul Gutting August 08/03 Robin Lance 08/14 Goldie Little 08/20 Reba Laramy 08/26 Marsha Graves 08/29 Roberta Bennett Donna Davis 08/30 Judy Nease Ganem September 09/02 Jennifer Scroggs 09/08 Jackie Riley 09/28 Karen Hewitt About Us We are a network of successful REALTORS, advancing women as professionals and leaders in business, the industry and the communities we serve. As a member, you are positioned to stay on top of your competition, whether it s by learning about businessbuilding resources or staying up to date on industry trends at our local chapter events and meetings. If you know a REALTOR who is not a member, invite them to join us! Women s Council of REALTORS 7015 Hodgson Memorial Drive Savannah, GA Savannah Chapter Looking Forward, Reaching Higher Council-of-Realtors pg. 5

6 2014 SPONSOR LIST February 10 Technology (CE Class before and after William James) Rubnitz & Ziblut Jeff Rubnitz American Moving and Storage - Brooks Gaudrey brooks@americanmoving-storage.com February 19 Business Development (Top Realtor Panel) Lee Black Rouse & Hollis TJ Hollis tjhollis@lawsavannah.com Fairway Independent Mortgage Corp Beth Jeffreys Mungo Homes Mark Kerce markkerce@gmail.com Worldwide Moving & Storage Kevin Allen kevin@wwmga.com March 19 (Spring Basket Auction) Joint Mtg. Skills (Self Defense) Synergy Homes Janet Atwood info@synergyhomes.com National Property Inspections Patrick Riley prileynpi@gmail.com Bouhan & Falligant Rob Brannen rbrannen@bouhan.com Wells Fargo Mortgage Eric Smith eric.t.smith@wellsfargo.com April 23 Economic Outlook-Joint Mtg MBAS McNamara & Adams Tom McNamara mcnamara@csam.net Waterways Township Vance Fletcher vanceaskew.fletcher@gmail.com BB&T Mortgage Dana Lee dana.lee@bbandt.com Prism Building Inspections Rick Simon rick.simon@prisminspections.com May 21 School Zoning Update McManamy & Jackson Steve Jackson sej@mjlawpc.com Dreamfinders Scott Hayman scott@dreamfindershomes.com Veterans United Home Loans Shawn Workman shawn.workman@vu.com Win Home Inspections Randy Dutson rdutson@wini.com September 24 Diverse Markets Cultural Awareness Oxford Inspection Services Charles Oxford charlesoxford@comcast.net Fidelity Bank Mortgage Julie Kelly Jones julie.kelly-jones@lionbank.com Zeigler & Walker Attorneys Josh Walker Josh@joshwalkerlaw.com Roto Rooter Scottie White swhite@rotosavannah.com October 21 (Joint Mtg) Civic Environment Elected Official Keynote Brand Mortgage Adam Hart ahart@brandmortgage.com Country Financial Insurance Mark Eller mark.eller@countryfinancial.com The Home Team Inspections Bobby Cox rcox44@comcast.net The Closing Source Chris Foreit cforeit@closingsource.net November 19 (Holiday Basket Auction) Obamacare Update Scana Energy Helen Stembridge hstembridge@scana.com Homes & Land Lauren Fowler lauren@homesandland.com Weiner Shearouse Christine McDonnell cmcdonnell@wswgs.com The Savannah Bank Ross Glendye ross.glendye@savb.com December 10 Installation of Officers SunTrust Mortgage - Craig Meyer craig.meyer@suntrust.com Old Republic Home Warranty Debbi Zepp debbiz@orhp.com EFT Attorney Liz Thompson eft@eftlaw.com We love recognizing our sponsors! Please contact Michele Gutting at to find out about this opportunity or to sign up for the month you want to sponsor. pg. 6